v6l. XX.] • PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 315 



after have, had, am, be, was, the Passive Participle seen. And so for all other 

 verbs. But the auxiliary am or be, is somewhat irregular, in a double form ; 

 am, art, is, plural are ; was, wast, was, plural were ; be, beest, be, plural be ; 

 were, wert, were, plural were; be, am, was, being, been : which attended with 

 the other auxiliaries make up the whole passive voice. 



A!l verbs without exception in the Active PHrticiple, are formed by adding 

 ing ; as, sue, seeing, teach, teaching, &c. The Preter Tense, and the Passive 

 Participle, are formed regularly by adding ed ; but are often subject to con- 

 tractions, and other irregularities, sometimes the same in both, sometimes dif- 

 ferent : and therefore it is proper here to give a table of Verbs, especially the 

 most usual, for those three cases : which may at once teach their signification 

 and their formation : as boil, boiled, boiled ; bake, baked, baked, &c. teach, 

 taught, taught ; buy, bought, bought, &c. give, gave, given ; take, took, 

 taken ; write, wrote, written, he. 



The Verbs being thus dispatched, he is then to learn the Prepositions, wherein 

 lies the whole regimen of the noun ; for diversity of cases we have none ; the 

 force of which is to be insinuated by proper examples, suited to their different 

 significations : as for instance, of, a piece of bread ; a glass of wine, &c. And 

 in like manner for, off, on, to, from, at, in, by, &c. And, by this time, he 

 will be pretty well enabled to understand a single sentence. In the last place, 

 he is in like manner to be taught Conjunctions, as, and, also, or, if, but, &c. and 

 these illustrated by examples ; as, because I am cold ; therefore I go to the fire ; 

 that I may be warm ; for it is cold weather. 



By this time, his book^ if well furnished with plenty of words, and those 

 well digested under several heads, and in good order, and well recruited from 

 time to time as new words occur, will serve him in the nature of a Dictionary 

 and Grammar. And in case the deaf person be otherwise of a good natural 

 capacity, and the teacher of good sagacity, by this method proceeding gradually 

 step by step, you may with diligence and due application, of teacher and learner, 

 in a year's time, or thereabouts, perceive a greater progress than you would 

 expect ; and a good foundation laid for further instruction, in matters of re- 

 ligion, and other knowledge which may be taught by books. 



It will be convenient all along to have pen, ink, and paper, ready at hand, to 

 write down in words what you signify to him by signs ; and cause him to write, 

 or show him how to write, what he means by signs. Which way of signifying 

 their mind by signs deaf persons are often very ready at. And we must endea- 

 vour to learn their language, if I may so call it, in order to teach them ours, 

 by showing what words answer to their signs. It will be proper also, as you go 



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